


unexpected places

by suga



Series: unexpected places [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Library, Background Relationships, Libraries, M/M, it honestly can be either au if you think hard enough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-10-30 19:03:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10883037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suga/pseuds/suga
Summary: sawamura daichi was absolutely, one hundred percent, done with his life in that moment.sugawara koushi was a lot of things, and in that moment, forward was not one of them.••••••in which a lawyer meets a lovely librarian.





	1. Chapter 1

The sun was burning bright in the sky while the cicadas chirped all around, and Sawamura Daichi was waiting for death.

He had just spent the majority of the day in a stuffy courtroom for a simple case that they made far too difficult. Had the defendant just _answered_ the questions they were asked eight hours prior, Daichi wouldn't be dragging his feet across the pavement in an attempt to get to his condo before turning into puddle of a former lawyer on the sidewalk.

There were not many shops on his way home that he could run into until the sun set, and he groaned internally as he felt sweat drip down his back, under the dark red button up shirt he wore, sleeves rolled until they were tight around his elbow. The black suit jacket was tightly gripped in one hand while his other held his briefcase, which felt ten times heavier than normal.

Daichi was absolutely, one hundred percent, done with his life in that moment.

And as though an angel above him wanted to answer any of his prayers, (‘ _Why must I live so far from work?  Five blocks is too far today!_ ’, ‘ _Where is a shop when you need one?  Can't one spring up right over there?_ ’, ‘ _I have woken up in hell on this day, July 31, 2017.  Rest in fucking pieces, Sawamura._ ’) a bell ringing in the distance brought his focus a few short steps ahead.

A worn out grin found its way to Daichi’s face as he felt a new boost of energy hit him. He picked up his pace the last half block and turned into the building, one of which he prayed had air conditioning.

The building itself was still quite new in his neighbourhood, one of which he had yet to venture into and had honestly forgot about. It had a modern exterior with tall tinted windows and planters of bushes outside.

As soon as he stepped through the sliding glass doors, a sigh of relief escaped passed his lips as cool air blew on him from above.  He tilted his head back and relished in the breeze, and after a few moments of heaven, he righted his head to take in his surroundings.

Sunlight trickled in from the tinted floor to ceiling windows and lit up a rather large coffee shop with subdued light. The shop was along the end of the room while there were about a dozen tables in front with a few people sitting with open books, drinks, and pastries.  Art covered the otherwise white walls with price tags posted underneath, and there was a sign advertising the local art above. Daichi’s eyes moved up once more to see that the ceiling, however, was not a ceiling but a balcony that connected at each corner of the building, showing off rows upon rows off shelves of books on the next floor from where he stood.

 _‘A library?’_ Daichi thought, humming quietly to himself.

Intrigued by this discovery, Daichi looked for the staircase that lead to the next floor and slowly started his ascent, the air conditioning bringing him back from hell’s grasp and giving him the motivation he needed.

Daichi heaved a sigh as he reached the top of the stairs, tired but still curious.  There were doors around him, each with different placards bolted on that he couldn't read from where he stood. There were a few with windows to see into some of the rooms, and Daichi saw a group of children being read to by an older woman with silver hair in one across from him.  Daichi couldn't help but smile at the sweet scene in front of him before turning towards the books.

Over the entrance was a large sign to invite everyone to enjoy the public library. Stepping across the threshold, Daichi gasped.  Unlike the modern exterior of the building, the interior was that out of a classic fairy tail. Wooden columns separated tall bookshelves along the walls, which were so large there were wheeled ladders hooked on tracks on each side of the library so patrons could reach the top shelves. The bookshelves made of dark mahogany went on for miles it seemed, and he didn't think the building had looked as large from the outside. There was a desk right beside him with a couple computers, surely where people could sign out the books they wanted.  There were large tables strewn about with mismatched chairs, and couches and cushy chairs with unique patterns in all corners. He could see the children's section covered in picture books and toys, all scattered upon a large mat with roads and train tracks.

Daichi found himself walking further in, trying to take in the magnificent sight in front of him. How had he missed such a marvellous place opening right in his very neighbourhood?  He had expected another cafe, which there _was_ , but apartments above instead of a library.

Daichi didn't know where to start, he hadn't _planned_ on reading anything any time soon, and if he had to read one more law book after the case that he had to deal with that day, his head would surely explode. But here he was, with an entire library at his fingertips.

Though despite not wanting to so much as _look_ at a law book, Daichi still found his way to the justice section near the back of the library. He had lost count of the rows by the time he had reached his destination, and as he walked down the row his fingers grazed the spines of the books on the shelves. New and old titles filled the shelves that were still far too new to be collecting dust, and his eye twitched at the sight of one particular book he just had to deal with at home.

“Do you need a hand finding anything?” a voice asked behind Daichi, causing him to startle. He had only seen a few other people in the library, and hadn't been expecting anyone to talk to him.

Daichi turned to address the person and nearly lost himself in doing so. The man standing at the end of the row was literally glowing. Daichi didn't want to believe that it was one of the lamps overhead in that particular area, no, this man was stunning. His ashen hair sparkled in the light and he was grinning in his direction, waiting for any sort of response.

“I, uh…” Daichi tried, mentally kicking himself for being the smoothest person in all of Tokyo. “I'm j-just browsing.”

The man at the end of the row beamed brighter before bowing ever so slightly.

“If you need a hand with anything, please don't hesitate to ask!” and with that, the stranger turned on his heel and walked back to wherever he had come from, quickly.

Daichi’s heart was hammering in his chest, feeling somewhat assaulted by the down right beautiful man.

‘ _I was not prepared for that,_ ’ Daichi thought as his eyes moved back to the titles in front of them, although now they seemed to be in a completely indecipherable language.

Daichi closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. The heat was definitely getting to him and his face was definitely on fire.

‘ _Maybe I should attempt to walk home and explore this library another day when I'm thinking clearly.  Or maybe I actually melted on the sidewalk and I am currently dead and dreaming,_ ’ he thought, his eyes opening once again to see the words, now back to proper Japanese, on the books in front of him. He stepped back and ran his hands through his hair, still attempting to gain his bearings before turning to leave the row he had found himself in.

Daichi slowly walked through the library back to the entrance, thankfully not running into the mysterious man that had startled him only moments before, though was well aware of two other men standing behind the counter where there hadn’t been any when he had first arrived.

He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched as he stepped out of the library and in the direction of his condo, the weight of the heat hit him immediately, though he was much more energised to get home.

 

  * • • • • •



 

Sugawara Koushi was a lot of things, and in that moment, forward was _not_ one of them.

He turned back to the front of the library with his eyes barely open and his face burning bright red hot.  He squinted at both of the men standing behind the checkout counter, and the larger of the two stepped to the side as Suga’s eyes fell onto the other man.

“What was that?” the man asked with a smirk, and it took everything in Sugawara’s power to keep his arms at his sides.  “What happened to, ‘yeah, I would love me a piece of --’”

“Shhh, shut up!” Suga hissed, turning around to see the man he had just attempted to approach walking towards the staircase to leave.  His eyes widened and he ducked behind the counter, out of sight.  “Saying and doing are two completely different things.”

The man hummed quietly and sidled up to Sugawara’s side, his arm loosely wrapping around his waist to pull him back up to a full standing position.  He guided the two through the door and to the other end of the balcony, into one of the conference rooms where a large window overlooked the street below.  The man from only moments before right under them on the sidewalk.

“Koushi, my dear, I know that is a blatant excuse because you’ve never had a problem before.   _To-the-point_ may as well be your middle name.”

“Okay, _Tooru_ , but when faced with a man that is as handsome and as _ripped_ as that man was, you’d be unable to speak Japanese too.”

“How do you know he was ripped?” the man, Tooru, asked quizzically.  He turned Sugawara in his grip to look at him, squinting.  “Wait, what language did you speak?  What happened in those ten seconds that I didn’t see?”

Suga rolled his eyes and turned back to Tooru as he heard the next door open, children streaming out from the reading and into the library.

“Nothing happened, I was just _observing._ ” Suga whispered, keeping his voice out of the children’s earshot before speaking up.  “Anyway, shouldn’t you be _working_?”

It was Tooru’s time to roll his eyes before waving his hands in front of him.  “The cafe is great.  Shouyou and Hitoka-chan are working just fine.”

Suga watched his friend for a moment before stepping back out of the room and back towards the library.  “You’re putting a lot of trust into Hinata.” he said as he heard the other follow.  They made their way back towards the checkout counter and where Suga slipped around behind it, Tooru continued to stay on the customer’s side before leaning across the surface.

“Well of course.  He’s a good worker, surprisingly.  And a better lov-”

“Okay!  Okay, Oikawa, please.”  Suga nearly shouted, leaning forward to cover the man’s mouth with a glare.  “There are children present.”

“Asahi has _done_ worse, trust me.”  Oikawa muttered against Suga’s hand, and he was thankful it seemed that Asahi had missed the comment completely.

Suga gave Oikawa a stern look that had him nodding before finally pulling his hand back as children started to line up at the counter, library cards in one hand and books in the other.  Oikawa pushed himself off of the counter and eyed both Suga and Asahi before making his exit back down to the cafe he managed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was trying for a wednesday update but i forgot.

The sun was not quite as deathly hot the following day as the clouds rolled in, and Daichi’s head seemed to be better attached than it had been the day before.  Though, despite the heat steaming up his brain and turning him into a complete sloth that day, something else had been nagging at him since.

Sawamura Daichi could  _ not _ stop thinking about the mystery man at the library not twenty-four hours earlier.

The lawyer sat back at his desk and rubbed his eyes.  He needed to concentrate on the papers in front of him to finalize the case from the day before, but he was definitely having issues doing so because all he could see was curious eyes and ashen hair.

“You look like shit.” someone said as they walked into the office.

Daichi swivelled in his seat to turn and see one of his workmates.  With a groan, his head fell back against the computer chair and his eyes closed.

“Tsukishima, I’m possibly dying.  Or, something…”

The other man paused before he sat down at his own desk across from Daichi, his paper cup of coffee tightly gripped in his hand.

“I’m going to assume right now--” Tsukishima started to say before Daichi cut in.

“It was love at first sight…”

“--that I’m really not going to--”

“He was  _ beautiful _ .  An  _ angel _ that fell from heaven.”

“--care about this conversation.”

Daichi huffed despite himself, Tsukishima’s reaction exactly what he had been expecting.

“And if he’s an angel that fell from heaven, he’s  _ Satan _ , and you should probably stay away from him.”  Tsukishima added a few moments later as he opened up his laptop to begin his morning work.

Daichi looked down at the papers in front of him and frowned before his eyes moved up to stare at Tsukishima across from him.  The man in question glanced over after a rather uncomfortable moment of being watched before turning back to his laptop and clicked his tongue.

“Kuroo doesn’t have any clients until this afternoon.” he finally said, reaching to take a sip of his coffee as though to end the conversation.

Daichi closed his eyes in a silent prayer and was quick to retrieve his phone from his pocket before slipping out of the shared office space.  He scrolled through his contacts and tapped Kuroo’s name before placing the phone against his ear.

Daichi wasn’t exactly sure why he felt so nervous as he walked down the street in the direction of his condo, but he was.  He felt his cheeks burning and he couldn’t blame it on the heat.  It was warm, sure, and he had left his jacket at his desk, but it was by no means as sweltering as it was the day before.

As Daichi stepped up to his destination, half way between work and home, he turned in time to see a black SUV pull up beside him to park.  He crossed his arms across his chest as he waited for the driver to step out, and couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the sight of his friend.  Of course he had to go with an extravagant looking vehicle.

Kuroo closed the door to the car and locked it with the button on his keyring.  He nodded at Daichi as he walked towards him before eyeing the building they had agreed to meet at.

“I haven’t been in your area for a while, how long has this been here?” he asked, looking up at the building.

“I think it’s been open for a couple weeks, I’m not sure.” Daichi said offhandedly, leading them inside.

Daichi had honestly only wanted to meet with Kuroo for a cup of coffee to vent, and he couldn’t stop himself from suggesting the coffee shop he had only discovered the day before.  He didn't even know if the coffee was going to be any good, but he also didn't want to admit (yet) that he hoped to see the nameless man from the day before.

“Sorry for calling you with such short notice, but I didn’t want to drive your boyfriend crazy before lunchtime.”  Daichi said, glancing towards Kuroo as Kuroo pushed his sunglasses from his eyes to rest on the top of his head.

Kuroo laughed as he turned Daichi.  “Don’t worry about it.  Kei would have probably texted me to save him anyway.”

At that, Daichi groaned. “God, I am sorry.  This is so stupid.”

The two walked between the tables towards the counter, looking over the menu above which hung over the back wall.

“Welcome to The Riverbend, what can I get started for you?”

The man behind the counter was small but incredibly bright.  His hair was everywhere yet still seemingly in place.  He wore a white button up shirt underneath a turquoise apron, which completely clashed with the colour of his hair, and he waited for the two other men to order intently.

Kuroo stepped forward to order his coffee and a scone and glanced at Daichi.

“It’s on me.”

Daichi shook his head.  “No, no. I’ll buy.  I dragged you out this early.”

Kuroo raised his eyebrow before lifting his hands.  “I’m not going to complain.”

After Daichi had ordered a drink and a snack for himself, they were sent to the end of the bar to wait for their things, neither of them noticing the calculating eyes on the other side of the espresso machine.

As the man poured the espresso into one of the cups, he turned to the cashier who was heating up Kuroo’s scone.

“Shouyou, I have to go upstairs really quick when I’m done with this.  Will you be okay?”

The first man, Shouyou, beamed bright at the barista and nodded.  “Of course, Tooru!  The lunch rush won't be for a while yet.”

Drinks and snacks in hand, Daichi and Kuroo moved to sit at one of the many tables in the cafe.  There were only a handful of other tables taken, and the two managed to snag one of the tables closest to the entrance.

They were silent for a few moments before Kuroo set down his coffee.  “Alright, Dai, what has got you all worked up this morning?”

Daichi remained quiet for a few moments as he chewed his muffin, trying to figure it all out himself in the best way to explain to his friend about the man upstairs.  Daichi then took a sip of his latte, and refused to acknowledge the fact that he was clearly stalling.  But in his defence, he really didn't know what to say or where to start.

“Daichi.”  Kuroo said his name like a statement, trying to get the man to respond.

Daichi’s eyes followed the barista that had made their drinks as he disappeared up the staircase. He gulped.

“So I discovered this place yesterday. And, I mean it isn't a completely new discovery because I watched the building grow from nothing while walking to and from work. But yesterday was  _ so fucking hot  _ -”

“Trust me I know, our air conditioning broke.”

Daichi gasped quietly and leaned toward Kuroo. “How have you not  _ melted _ ?”

Kuroo only shook his head. “Continue.”

Daichi clenched his jaw and sat back against his seat, fiddling with the sleeve around the coffee cup. “So, as you know, there aren't too many places open with air conditioning between the courthouse and my complex, but I came into this building yesterday just to get out of the heat. It’s halfway between work and home so it was a great pit stop, I just didn't know what to expect when I came in here.”

“Is that why we are here?  You wanted to show me a new coffee shop? Daichi-”

“No! I didn't actually buy anything yesterday.  I considered it briefly, but as I was being blasted with cold air, I looked up,” and at that, Daichi pointed up to the balcony above the foyer and cafe. “There’s a library.”

“You're freaking out over a library?”

“Let me finish.” Daichi said, huffing a sigh as the barista returned with an all too smug look on his face. Daichi paid no mind to it as his eyes moved back to Kuroo. “I wandered through the shelves and an  _ angel  _ spooked me.”

“Excuse me?” Kuroo raised his eyebrow as he spoke. “What?”

Daichi took a sip of his latte as he tried to recollect his thoughts from the previous hazy afternoon.

“I was looking at book titles and this man, who I assume works upstairs, asked me if I needed any help. I couldn't speak, I forgot Japanese. Kuroo, I was a mess and it was embarrassing.”

Kuroo stayed quiet for a moment as he took a bite of his danish.

“So, did you talk to him once you remembered Japanese again?”  Kuroo asked, reaching for his coffee.  “Because I swear, Daichi…”

“No, I didn’t see him again.  I left soon after because I figured the heat was getting to me, you know.”

Kuroo slowly shook his head and set his coffee back down.  “So what’s going on?”

Daichi bit the inside of his lip as he let his eyes stay put on the table top.  His heart was hammering and he hoped that it wasn’t audible across the table.

“It has been less than twenty-four hours but I haven’t really gotten him off my mind.  We didn’t even have an actual conversation, but I wish we had been able to.  But I just, I don’t think I even have a chance?  But...”

Kuroo sat back in his seat and let his head lean back.  His eyebrow arched as he looked up to the balcony above and a smirk crossed his lips as he watched a tuft of hair duck behind the railing.

“What did he look like?” Kuroo asked curiously as the person peered over the railing again, only to disappear as quickly as he had popped up.

Daichi, clueless to what was going on, sighed.

“He had really, really light coloured hair.  Silver almost.  A kind face and beautiful eyes, with a mole on one side.”  Daichi said, recalling as many details as he could despite his nearly melted brain the day before.

Kuroo hummed and looked back down and across to Daichi.

“You should talk to him.  Right now.”

“What?  Are you crazy?  I don’t even know if he’s working!”  Daichi said, shaking his head hard enough to nearly cause whiplash.  “No, no.”

Kuroo cocked his head to the side.  “Okay, well.  You should go talk to him because I bet my entire next paycheque that he is working.”

Daichi frowned across the table at Kuroo as he looked back up to the balcony, though the man was gone completely.  Daichi’s heart started rapidly beating at that and his eyes widened.

“We need to leave.  Right now.  Immediately.”  he muttered, reaching for his coffee and the rest of his muffin.

Kuroo shook his head but followed suit, much slower than Daichi.  In fact, Daichi was already out the doors and on the sidewalk by the time Kuroo managed to tuck his chair back under the table.

“Sawamura Daichi, you are so dramatic.” he muttered to himself as he left the building.  “Honestly, I don’t get it.”  he added, loud enough for Daichi to hear.

“Believe me, he is way, way,  _ way,  _ out of my league.  I do not have a  _ single _ chance.  I probably hallucinated the whole thing anyway, it must’ve been caused by severe heat stroke.  He's probably not even real, and I should just give up now.”

Kuroo sighed and placed his sunglasses over his eyes.  He knew Daichi was stubborn and he wasn’t going to be able to change his mind so easily.

“You think that, but you’re a catch, Dai.” he started, swinging his fist to hit Daichi in the shoulder softly.  “Give it a few days, think it over.  Maybe he is out of your league, but you won’t know until you try.”

“But--”

“No buts, Dai. Listen to me, are you listening?” Kuroo asked, silent until Daichi nodded. “When you first introduced me to Kei, I thought the exact same thing like, ‘ _ this guy is  _ way  _ out of my league _ ,’ and look and where we are five years later. The same thing could happen with this mystery librarian, you never know.”

“Of course it worked with you and Kei. You're handsome and have money but--”

“Daichi get a hold of yourself.” Kuroo said, grabbing both of the man’s shoulders as he held back a laugh. “Honestly Daichi, you've got it all.  You're charming, sweet, and incredibly caring in your own way.  You're attractive as hell, even  _ more _ so than when we were in college together," and Kuroo winked at that before continuing, "you're making  _ great _ money. I mean, I was your realtor, I know how much that condo of yours cost, man. You're comfortable, you have it  _ made  _ .  Give yourself a chance at happiness, won't you?”

“But--”

“I swear to god if you say  _ but _ one more time, I will pummel you right here.”

“Ass.” Daichi found himself muttering as he looked away from Kuroo's intense glare.

“That is an unacceptable replacement for  _ but  _ in this situation, Dai. Okay, conversation over. Think about it.” he paused briefly to catch his breath before adding on, “Now, do you want a ride back to the office?”

Daichi huffed quietly as he checked his phone, nodding once he realised he'd been away much longer than he had anticipated and if he walked back he'd end up late for his late morning meeting with the client from the day before.

“Yes, please.”

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Sugawara Koushi was, in fact, trying to remain cool as a cucumber while simultaneously failing to do so.

He had no books to put away, no shelves to dust, and the children were only just starting their school day, so the library in that moment was completely empty save for one elderly woman in the outdoors section looking for a certain type of bird in every bird book available. 

_ “Have you tried the internet?” Suga found himself asking once he had gone round the check on her for a third time, stacks of books scattered around.  _

_ “Don't be silly, boy. The internet is full of lies and deceit.” _

And with that, Sugawara thought it best to leave the woman alone. There had also been an older man, earlier, looking for a new mystery novel to read, and a college student looking quite frazzled in the physics section as soon as the doors had been unlocked, but he had been otherwise left to his own devices after that.

He sat back at the front of the library behind the checkout counter and tried to concentrate on one of the hundreds of magazines they had laying about, but the words were only blurring together.  His leg bounced under his chair as he tried his hardest to focus before he groaned and pushed the magazine away.

He could hear the sounds of the espresso machine downstairs and he thought a cup of coffee sounded like a good idea, though as soon as the thought crept into his mind enough to move him into action, one Oikawa Tooru burst up the stairs with an awful look on his face.

Awful because he was absolutely  _ living _ .

“I don’t like this look.” Sugawara stated as soon as the other was in earshot, earning him a tongue click.

“Kou-chan, I have some brilliant news.”

“I  _ really _ don’t like this look.” he repeated, rolling back from the counter in his seat. “What have you done?”

Oikawa cocked his head to the side with a sly smile. “Oh nothing, yet. Do you think I should?”

Sugawara only squinted at the man in front of him, unable to read him. And the fact he wasn’t able to do so was rather unnerving. 

“What?”

“There are two men down in the cafe right now.”

“And?” Suga asked, failing to see where the conversation was headed. 

Oikawa hummed, smugness radiating off of him in waves that nearly made Suga nauseous. 

“They are both incredibly attractive and if it wasn't for Shouyou, I--”

“Please do not finish that sentence.” Suga said as he winced, feeling as though he knew  _ exactly _ where it was headed. 

The man on the other side of the counter hummed. “Well, I would only take the one because you had your eyes set on the other yesterday. You were right, he is ripped.”

Suga suddenly found that his shirt collar was too tight and he was finding it hard to breathe. 

“Excuse me?”

Oikawa’s eyebrow arched at the reaction and he pushed himself away from the counter.

“I should get back to work before the lunch rush starts.” he said, all too pleased with himself as Suga scrambled to his feet.

“Oi!  Oikawa, what are you talking about?” Suga half shouted, half whispered after his so-called best friend as he fled the library and down the stairs two at a time. “It's not even close to lunchtime…”

Suga frowned at the empty doorway of the library before his face warmed ten thousand degrees once his head wrapped around  _ what  _ Oikawa had told him.

_ ‘He’s downstairs right now?’  _ he thought to himself, feeling his feet moving towards the end of the counter despite the rest of him telling him to stay still. 

Suga peered behind him to make sure that the elderly woman looking for birds was still looking for birds before he stepped across the threshold to the lobby balcony. He didn't know why he was so nervous to look over the edge, but he was.

Suga took a few deep breaths as he gripped the railing before he finally leaned over, spotting the man instantly, sitting across from another incredibly attractive man.

“What the hell is in the water around here?” Suga muttered to himself.

Suga frowned slightly, realizing the two were taking but they were just far enough that he wasn't able to hear them. Not that he exactly wanted to, he didn't want to eavesdrop. Not entirely. 

‘ _ It is unfortunate he has a boyfriend, though _ .’ Suga thought, disappointed. ‘ _ Of course he does _ .’

His heart nearly leapt up to his throat as the second man gazed up towards him. Suga’s eyes widened and, instead of playing it cool, he ducked down behind the railing. His heart beat rapidly in his chest as he tried to remember how to breathe. Had he been caught watching? 

On shaky legs, Suga stood back up in time to catch the man’s eye again. He ducked back down and crawled away in hopes he wouldn't be tempted to look again. 

“What are you doing on the floor?”

The voice came from behind Suga, startling him and causing a rather unattractive squeak to escape his mouth.  His head whipped around to show off his beet red face, relieved to find Asahi standing at the top of the stairs. 

“Asahi, oh my god.” Suga started, scrambling to his feet to grasp the other’s sleeves. “Remember that man from yesterday?”

Asahi slowly nodded. “Yeah, he nearly bulldozed me down just a moment ago when I was trying to come up the stairs…”

Suga’s eyes darted back and forth as he looked at the man in front of him.  He broke away a moment later to lean over the balcony to see that the man had indeed left, and his friend (boyfriend?) stepping out the door at that very moment.

“Are you okay?”  Asahi asked, startling Suga slightly and causing him to jump back from the railing.

Suga turned to his friend and coworker with a forced smile.  “I am fine, how are you?”

But the look on his face, Asahi knew that Suga wasn’t ready to talk about whatever was going on and so instead of pressing any further, he nodded.  “Great.  Yuu made me an amazing bento today, I am excited for lunch.”

And just like that, the nerves that were coursing through Suga’s body started to lessen and he started to relax as his friend spoke.  And as he turned back towards the library with a more genuine smile on his face, which had been contagious from the one on Asahi’s after mentioning Noya, he realized the old woman from the bird section was making her way towards the checkout counter.

 

A few hours later, Suga found himself hunched over a steaming hot cup of tea despite the warm weather outside. He felt emotionally drained after the morning’s events and he was ready to head home and curl up in bed. 

Or in the kitchen surrounded with his baking supplies, to make and binge on chocolate chip cookies in order to feel better. 

Or study, because that was what he really  _ should _ do. 

But no, he was unfortunately stuck at the library for another few hours. 

“Okay, Kou-chan, if you're going to sit here looking like  _ that _ , you're going to scare all the customers away for good!”

Suga winced at Oikawa’s vice as he glanced up in time to see the other sit across from him. 

“ _ However _ ,” he started when Suga stayed silent, “I will let it slide today.  But you should talk to him, give it a chance!”

Suga’s eyes squeezed shut at that and he shook his head.

“Tooru, I know it will be hard to believe but he is way,  _ way _ out of my league. Did you even  _ see _ him?”

Oikawa sighed and sat back in his seat, crossing his arms across his chest. He was used to his friend being stubborn, but he didn't enjoy dealing with him when he was doing so. 

“Koushi. You have everything a partner would ever ask for. Like, when we, y'know, tried, it was actually quite good. You are the perfect candidate for a partner.”

“Says the guy that dumped me.”

“ _ Koushi _ .”

“I know. It was freshman year college and Iwaizumi is way better than I am.”

Oikawa, at that, pressed his palm against his face. 

“Okay we aren't talking about this again, it's been like ten years.”

Suga sighed and nodded. They could talk in circles about Iwaizumi, but it was better to leave it be after so long.

“I'm just telling you, Kou-chan, give yourself a chance to get out there. There has to be a reason he's come here two days in a row.”

Suga’s eyes moved up to meet Oikawa’s across the table, his eyebrow arching slightly.

“Well maybe it's not me.  _ Besides, _ he was with that gorgeous guy earlier, he's obviously taken.”

Oikawa shook his head. “Tall, dark, and handsome had a ring on his finger.  _ He’s _ taken, but not by your man.  It seemed, just from my observation, that mystery man was in some sort of dilemma. I'm not one to pry--”

“Have you met yourself?”

Oikawa cleared his throat, “I'm not one to pry, but, he seemed quite frantic when I came back downstairs. I don't know why, but he left in a hurry.” 

Suga sighed and slouched back in his chair.

“I don't know…”

“And you won't know until you try and find out for yourself.” Oikawa said before his eyes moved and set on something behind Suga. “Speaking of someone that comes every day and not just for the coffee…”

Frowning, Suga glanced to the side just as a man walked passed, much younger than both men at the table. His hair was dark and falling into his eyes, and his cheeks were highlighted pink.

The two men watched the customer approach the counter, where Hinata was beaming brightly and ready to take his order.

“He comes every day?” Suga asked quietly, just loud enough for Oikawa to hear.

A smirk crossed his friends face as he nodded. “Tobio-chan is quite taken with Shouyou, you know.” Oikawa explained, turning towards Suga for a moment before turning to watch his boyfriend and his admirer.

“Does he know about you and Hinata?”

Oikawa nodded slowly as the man, Tobio, moved to the end of the bar to wait for his order.  He turned in his seat to face Sugawara once more. 

“He knows, but he's quite persistent anyway. And honestly, he’s adorable. You know, when he's not trying to smile.”

Suga watched the interaction going on behind Oikawa, and watched Hinata's admirer speaking quietly to him, blushing furiously as the other spoke animatedly behind the counter. 

“Does Hinata know?” Suga ask, curiously. As he watched the stranger, he noted how not subtle he was. 

Oikawa nodded slowly. “He does.  And I believe it's mutual, but…”

“You…”

Oikawa nodded again, and there was apprehension written on his face.  “Well, yes.”  there was a beat of silence before Oikawa sighed and sat up in his chair. “We've been considering, actually…” another pause as the man's eyes darted back and forth on the table between them, as though searching for the words. “Opening the relationship to Kageyama…”

Suga's eyebrows arched at that, surprised. It had honestly been the last thing he has been expecting, mostly due to the fact that Oikawa had a hard time sharing anything. 

“Really?” was all Suga was able to say, shocked. 

“Look, I know it's maybe strange but--”

“Well, not really in the grand scheme of things. Maybe strange considering it's you, Tooru, but…” Suga trailed off as he looked past his friend and back to Hinata and Kageyama. “Like you were telling me not twenty minutes ago, give it a chance.”

“Y-Yes, this conversation was about you and mystery man, not my relationship.”

“How am I even supposed to talk to the guy?  Maybe he's not even from here. I don't know his name.”

There was a smirk on Oikawa’s face that Suga definitely did not like. 

“I just have this  _ feeling _ that you will see him again.  Maybe he lives in the neighbourhood.”

Suga squinted. “What do you know?”

Oikawa clicked his tongue and moved to stand up. “I can see the sidewalk outside from behind the counter.” was all Oikawa said before he moved back towards the counter and around the back. 

Suga watched as words were exchanged between Oikawa, Hinata, and Kageyama, and he watched as Kageyama’s face turned the same shade as a cherry tomato.

“See you later, Tobio-chan!” Oikawa called as Kageyama quickly shuffled away from the end of the bar and to the door.

“Are-are you  _ serious _ , Tooru?” Suga could hear Hinata ask in a quiet tone, or as quiet as he was able to go. 

Suga picked up his tea, now nearly cold, before heading to the staircase to go back to work. His brain was a clusterfuck of thoughts and nothing seemed to help. He had never found himself in such a predicament before, he didn't know what to do.

 


	4. Chapter 4

It had been one week since Daichi left the cafe to go back to work.  It had been one week since Daichi decided to stop walking down that block to get home.  For one entire week, Daichi had been having a mostly internal struggle because he knew he was being a complete coward.

“Your anxiety is making me queasy.”  Tsukishima mumbled one Friday afternoon while sitting across from Daichi, tapping away at his laptop.  “If this is going to continue,  _ I  _ will go talk to this guy for you because I swear to god--”

“Do  _ not _ do that.”

“--I can’t handle you being all broody and tense.  Like, chill, or something.”

“I can’t have you waltzing into the library to talk to an absolute stranger on my behalf.  That’s even more weird than  _ me _ going to talk to a complete stranger on my own behalf.”

Tsukishima slipped his glasses off and set them on the desk before rubbing his eyes.  He had been working on a rather stressful case and he was so obviously tired, and Daichi knew he probably wasn’t helping any by being Broody McBrooderson.

“Look, I’m not going to repeat what Kuroo already told you probably a thousand times more than he's told me, but you either need to shit or get off the pot.”

Daichi squinted across at Tsukishima at that.  “Why are you quoting Clerks?”

“Kuroo was having an American movie marathon or something and -- that is not the point.  The point is, Sawamura, either go talk to the guy or get over it.”

 

Sawamura Daichi was shaking as he left his office that evening.  His legs shook, his arms shook, hell he  _ was _ shook, and he wasn’t sure if he was going to make it back to his condo in one piece.  He had finally come to a decision earlier that afternoon, but his resolve was starting to crumble now that he was finished work for the weekend and outside the safety of his office.

_ ‘I’m gonna do it.  I’m going to go do it.’  _ he kept telling himself as he hobbled down the road.

Daichi walked down the street with his hand gripping his suitcase tightly.  He had his light suit jacket folded over his other arm and he wasn’t sure if it was the summer heat or his nerves causing him to sweat profusely.  His legs were shaking, which probably caused him to look a wee bit intoxicated.

The library seemed to be farther and farther away the closer he got.  He shook his head with closed eyes to try and focus before crossing the next street and continuing on, his heart racing at the mere thought of seeing the man he so desperately wanted to talk to.

‘ _ What if he doesn’t even like coffee?  What am I going to do then?’ _

Daichi stopped just before the entrance to the cafe and took a deep breath to calm himself.  His palms were sweating as he pushed his free hand through his hair.  He wished he could have gone home first to shower, to look presentable, but he didn’t want the library to close in that time, or to chicken out all together.  The latter being the more likely outcome.

Clearing his throat, Daichi walked through the front doors and immediately went for the stairs.  He slowed his pace as he stepped up the last few before turning into the library.

There were a few more people in the library this time.  There were children playing on the mat in the kid’s section, and half of the couches and chairs near the front were all occupied by students and elderly people alike. 

Daichi chanced a glance at the checkout counter but was disappointed to see a taller man with long hair pulled back up in a bun, smiling as he scanned a few books for a young boy.  Attractive, yes, but not who he was looking for in the slightest.

Sawamura Daichi did not let that get to him however, and he continued into the depths of the library to start searching for a book.

Or a beautiful, ashen haired angel who was obviously working undercover as a librarian.

Daichi shook his head and continued into the library. He was being ridiculous, and he knew it. He felt awful for driving Kuroo, and in turn Tsukishima, crazy over the last week and he knew he needed to make it up to them somehow. 

By talking to mystery librarian angel man. 

Daichi wandered each of the rows and frowned once he ended up at the back of the library, where an entire wall of filing cabinets sat with old newspaper articles in alphabetically marked drawers. 

Daichi sighed softly to himself as he wandered back through the library, looking up and down each row nonchalantly, looking for the man. Was he off work?  That would be just Daichi’s luck. 

Once he had reached the front of the library again, he noticed most of the customers had left, only a few children remained with an older woman sitting in one of the armchairs, reading quietly while the children listened intently. If Daichi wasn't so preoccupied, he may have cried from the endearing scene in front of him. 

But Sawamura Daichi was a man on a mission.  He had got that far, he wasn't about to give up.  Or so he kept telling himself.

He looked over his shoulder before walking towards the checkout, feeling a bit silly without having any books. 

“Can I help you find anything, sir?” the man asked from behind the counter. Daichi looked up at him and slowly nodded, his heart hammering against his chest almost painfully. 

“Y-Yeah, actually, I'm looking for someone.” Daichi started, glancing at the man whose eyebrows rose considerably. “But I'm not sure of his name, but I believe he works here…”

“Ah, I see. There are only a few of us, what did he look like?”

“Beaut--” Daichi cleared his threat and tried to cover his slip up, his face  _ burning  _ to a crisp. “He has light coloured hair, and--”

“Ah, you're looking for Suga, ah, Sugawara.  He's actually finished for the day, but I can call him down if you want?” and at the question, Daichi cocked his head to the side, curious. “He lives in the apartment upstairs.”

Looking up, Daichi’s jaw dropped. He hadn't realised there was still another floor. 

“I had the same reaction when I saw the blueprints for the building, you know.” Daichi heard the man say before turning his head back upright. “I can text him…”

Daichi’s palms were starting to sweat at the prospect of seeing the man. Sugawara.  His mouth started to open and close much like a fish as he tried to find his words. 

“I, uh, um…” he spluttered, his head starting to heat up he was sure his brain was melting. “I can come back another day, I, uh, don't want to disturb him. Especially if he's not working. He probably has no idea who I am, it would be weird.” Daichi found himself rambling before biting his tongue to stop himself from continuing. 

The man on the other side of the counter laughed and slowly shook his head. “You never know.”

Daichi frowned at that, confused as he stepped back from the counter. 

“I will check back, I think. Maybe. D-Does he work this weekend?” Daichi asked before he could stop himself. 

“Suga works basically every day,” the man said with a small shrug. “I really don't think he'll mind if I call him down though…”

“N-No, I'll come back when he's working.  Thank you for your help.” Daichi said quickly, bowing to the tall librarian before hurriedly leaving out the door and down the stairs, and running head first to one of the baristas from the cafe. The sudden impact caused Daichi to lose footing and slip down the last couple steps, his briefcase flying towards one of the tables.

Daichi looked up to the barista, horrified. 

“I am so, so sorry, sir.” the barista said, reaching for Daichi’s hand to help him up. 

“N-Not a problem, I was in a bit of a rush and loss my balance. Not to worry.” Daichi said as he got to his feet, dusting off his pants and wincing slightly as he had landed on his back.

The barista seemed to be in a dilemma, his legs shaking as though he was trying to get up the stairs but he also wanted to talk to Daichi, to make sure he was alright.

“I feel awful. Can I get you a drink? Call it even?”

Daichi so very much wanted to go home, but perhaps a hot drink would calm his nerves. He nodded. 

“What would you like?  You can pick anything off the menu, it's on me.” the barista asked, walking back towards the cafe where the same smaller man from the week before stood behind the counter. Daichi retrieved his briefcase and followed after him. “Shouyou, can you make this man a drink?”

Shouyou grinned widely and nodded. “Of course, Tooru.” he said before turning his attention to Daichi. “What can I get for you?”

“Um, just a hot chocolate?” Daichi said with a question in his voice; he could feel the barista beside him staring at him and turned to look. 

The barista smiled as Shouyou moved to start on Daichi's drink. 

“I've seen you around a couple times. What is your name?” he asked as the sound of milk steaming filled the small cafe.

“I, uh, Sawamura Daichi.”

“Sawamura Daichi.” the barista repeated, nodding. “It's nice to meet you, I'm Oikawa Tooru.” he said, offering his hand to shake, which Daichi accepted. 

“Here is your hot chocolate!  Please enjoy!”

“Thank you.  Wow, that looks decadent.” Daichi said, reaching for the mug on the bar, a huge mountain of whipped cream and chocolate sauce nearly pouring over the edges of the mug. “And thank you, I appreciate it.” he said, turning towards Oikawa and bowing his head slightly. 

Oikawa only waved his hand and motioned Daichi to sit at one of the tables, before promptly sitting across from him. Daichi watched Oikawa curiously over the top of his mug, unsure why he was still lingering. 

“Sawamura Daichi.” Oikawa started, and Daichi felt uneasy though hid it behind his mug. “Are you single?”

The question was one that Daichi didn't expect at all, and he nodded his head with wide eyes.

“Perfect.  And what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a lawyer, but why do you ask?” Daichi asked slowly, his confusion from earlier only growing deeper. 

“Well, not for me, but a little bird was curious.”

“Little bird…”

Oikawa smiled a smile that made Daichi feel as though he was missing something completely, which he obviously  _ was _ , before he abruptly stood. 

“Now, if you can excuse me, I must get back to my previous mission. Again, sorry about the stairs.”

“Don't worry about it, thank you for the drink.”

Daichi eyed Oikawa as the man hopped up the stairs before letting out a breath.  His mind had been a complete mess before he got there, but he thought he was worse off after all of that.  What had Oikawa been talking about?  What had the man upstairs been talking about?

Daichi groaned to himself and leaned forward against his arm, cradling his mug in his other hand.

“Sir, are you okay?” Shouyou asked causing Daichi to jolt having forgotten about him behind him.  “My boyfriend didn’t injure you or anything on the stairs in his mad rush to see Suga-san, right?  Oh god, you’re not lactose intolerant are you?”

Daichi choked on his hot chocolate slightly at that and shook his head.  “N-No, I’m fine.  Thank you.” but that was a lie, because he wasn’t fine.  He wasn’t fine at all.

Even though the hot chocolate was still very hot, Daichi downed it in a matter of seconds and stood up quickly.  He took the mug back to the bar and thanked Shouyou once more before hurrying out of the cafe before Oikawa could return.

He turned down the street and walked towards his condo, his mind racing as he reached for his phone, immediately calling Kuroo.

“What the  _ fuck _ is going on?”

It took Kuroo a few moments to answer.  “Hello to you too.” he muttered as Daichi came to a stop at a red light.  “What the fuck is going on is right.  Care to explain?”

So Daichi did.  He explained everything from stepping out of the office to stepping out of the cafe, his voice getting a bit higher the more he spoke.  

“His name is Sugawara and he  _ lives _ there.”

“Oh really?  I wonder if he’s related to the man behind Sugawara Contracting.  That man is worth hundreds of millions, probably billions, of yen.  You said that other librarian saw the blueprints?  That seems strange.”

“I thought that for a moment, but I wasn’t sure.  And anyway, that’s a really common family name, it’s unlikely.”

Kuroo hummed through the phone as Daichi slowed his pace as his condo sprung into view.

“Well, now  _ I’m  _ curious and I’m going to go put my realtor powers to good use and find out who built the building.”

Daichi sighed as he cradled his phone between his ear and his shoulder in order to dig his keys out of his jacket pocket that he had one again slung over his arm.

“It still doesn’t mean they’re related.”

“Well, no but wouldn’t that be awesome?”

“I would then be  _ so _ out of his league for sure then.  He’d want to find some other rich person to marry and blah blah blah.” Daichi muttered as he opened the front door with the fob on his keyring.  “I just, now I don’t know.  I told the man in the library that I’d go back this weekend when Sugawara  _ was _ working, but now I don’t know.  Now I’m even more nervous.  And that guy from the cafe, Oikawa, was rushing up to see Sugawara when he crashed into me and went to go see him after sort of interrogating me.”

“What, was he shining a light in your face?”

Daichi groaned stood in the elevator, pushing and turning his key into the panel to go to his floor at the top of the building.  “Well, no.  But, I don’t know.  He made me uncomfortable.  I just am so confused right now…”

“Well, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again,” Kuroo started as Daichi stepped off of the elevator and straight into his apartment.  “Just give it a try and talk to him.  You were talking to everyone else  _ but _ him.”

“I know, but--”

“Daichi.  Tomorrow.  But I have to go now, I am showing a house in a few minutes and I’m pretty sure the couple just arrived.  But go tomorrow.”

Defeated, Daichi nodded despite knowing Kuroo couldn’t see him.  “Fine.  Tomorrow.  Thank you for dealing with me.”

“What are best friends for?”

The call ended at that and Daichi dropped everything on the floor unceremoniously.  He needed a drink.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait for this short chapter

Oikawa Tooru suddenly burst into Sugawara’s apartment, nearly causing the homeowner to have a heart attack. 

“Kou-chan, holy  _ fuck _ !” the man cried, grabbing the door handle before the door could smash into the cabinet behind it. 

“Jesus Christ, Oikawa.” Suga yelped back, holding his hand to his chest in front of his heart. “Have you ever heard of  _ knocking _ ?  It’s where you tap your knuckles on the door--”

“This is a  _ code red, _ Koushi, this is  _ serious business. _ ” Oikawa said, finally closing the door behind him. “Your man was--”

“Asahi already texted me…” Suga cut Oikawa off quietly, turning his head towards the laptop that he had thankfully placed on the coffee table in front of him moments before his friend showed up.

“Then why didn't you come down?  You realise he was looking for  _ you _ right?”

Suga swallowed a lump in his throat and shook his head. “I'm having a really hard time believing it, to be honest. They're usually looking for you.  Always looking for you.  Sometimes Asahi.  Mostly you.”

Oikawa clicked his tongue and slipped off his shoes before stepping into the living room, collapsing on the couch beside the other man. 

“Koushi, if he was looking for me, he wouldn't have gone to the library to ask Asahi where  _ you _ are, he would have gone straight to the cafe.”

“But-”

“ _ No _ .” Oikawa's voice was barely above a whisper next to Suga before he moved his hand to rub his face. “Sugawara Koushi, you listen to me right now. Sawamura Daichi was looking for  _ you _ and you best be your best dressed self this weekend because he said he was coming back.”

“W-Wait, what?” Suga croaked. Asahi hadn't mentioned anything about  _ that _ .  “He said that?”

Oikawa looked up for a moment and sort of nodded his head.  “Well, that’s what Asahi told me anyway.  He didn’t want to disturb you, even though you should have come down when Asahi messaged you anyway.”

Suga’s eyes widened further as his jaw dropped.  “Asahi didn’t tell  _ me _ that!”

Sugawara Koushi was determined to kill Azumane Asahi.  With love.

“Asahi clearly didn’t want to make you nervous--”

“But you do?”

“-- _ but _ I figured it would be best for you to be prepared for this weekend.  So he’s not showing up and startling you, or finding you as a hot mess surrounded by books.  And to wear your best outfits for the next two days.”  Oikawa explained, as though it was the most obvious explanation.

Suga only looked at his so-called friend dumbfounded. 

“ _ Wait _ , how did you find out his name?” he asked after a moment, as Oikawa's words slowly started to fully register. 

“Oh, I knocked him down the stairs and asked him what his name was.”

“You did  _ what _ ?”

“It's not important!” Oikawa cried in attempt to change the subject, standing up from the couch and grabbing Suga's arm. “Let’s go look at your clothes.”

Suga let himself be pulled to his feet, all while looking at his friend in utter confusion. 

“Please explain to me why you knocked him down the stairs!”

Oikawa clicked his tongue as he pulled Suga through the suite to the large bedroom filled with soft blues and lavenders. Windows took up one side of the room with sheer, light blue drapes, while his four poster bed sat in the middle, a large matching canopy covering it. 

“You finally put the canopy up I see.” Oikawa said instead, refusing to explain himself as he let go of Suga's arm in order to open the spacious walk-in closet. 

Knowing Oikawa would continue to beat around the bush, Suga moved to lean against the foot of his bed, crossing his arm as the other man started to move through his wardrobe.

“I don’t see what’s so bad about what I usually wear downstairs.”  Suga muttered as he watched Oikawa pull different button up shirts to lay over his arm.

Oikawa glanced over to Suga with his eyebrow raised before turning his attention back to the clothing in front of him.

“You dress like a librarian.”

“Need I remind you that I  _ am _ a librarian?”

“But you need to dress, like, a  _ hot _ librarian.”

This time it was Suga’s turn to raise his eyebrow.  “First of all, rude.  Second of all, I still don’t see why it matters.  This guy, what was his name?”

“Sawamura Daichi.”

“Sawamura.  He’s already seen me, so what does it matter?”

“Okay, so you have clearly passed the first checkpoint by making a good first impression, otherwise he probably wouldn’t have come back.”  Oikawa rambled as the pile of shirts in his arm grew higher.  “But the second, third, fourth, et cetera, impressions are just as important as the first.”

Suga hummed and watched Oikawa sort through his clothes with calculating eyes.

 

Sugawara Koushi found himself behind the library checkout counter the following morning, nervous and full of butterflies.  After Oikawa had settled on two outfits for the weekend for him, he had thankfully left the apartment to go back to work.  Unfortunately, this had left Suga without a distraction, and he had begun to think, and in turn  _ over _ think.

Anxiety was starting to course through his veins as he waited for the man to arrive, if he was going to arrive.  But he had a feeling he might.

Sugawara sometimes took whatever Oikawa said with a grain of salt, but the fact that Asahi had later confirmed that Sawamura said he would try again over the weekend, he knew to believe it.  Asahi wasn’t one to lie, he only sometimes left out very key points.

Like the fact that Sawamura was planning to return that weekend.

The hours ticked by slowly, so much so he thought Asahi was five hours late for his shift when he finally showed up at eleven, perfectly on time, with Nishinoya bounding up the stairs behind him.

Asahi left to the back room to drop off his jacket and leave his bento in the fridge as Noya moved to stand with Sugawara.

“So, I heard you have a hot date.”  Noya said with a grin, looking up at the other.

“That is not true.”  Suga muttered.  “Apparently--”

“ _ Apparently _ a complete dream boat was in here yesterday looking for you.”  Noya finished instead, and Sugawara wasn’t even surprised that Asahi had told him.  “Is this why you’re trying to look like a sexy librarian?”

The comment caused Suga’s cheeks to burn as his eyes moved down to look at Noya.

“I, well, is it working?  If it isn’t, we can all blame Oikawa and I will go change right now immediatley.”

Noya laughed at the answer and pushed himself away from the counter as Asahi returned from the back room.

“It’s working for you, Suga-san, don’t worry.”

Suga let out a sigh of relief as he moved to sit on one of the swivel chairs behind the counter, trying to completely ignore the sappy love session going on beside him before Nishinoya left the library.

 

Saturdays were usually Suga’s favourite days because they went much faster than the rest of the days, but that Saturday was the complete opposite.  What felt like seven years later, the large group of children started to file up the stairs for the afternoon readings.  Suga looked around for a moment, momentarily concerned, until the older woman that read to them made her way up from the cafe with a piping hot cup of tea in her hand, as always.

The woman grinned at Suga and stepped into the library before raising her eyebrow.

“Did Tooru pick out your clothes today, darling?”  she asked, giving Suga the up and down.

In turn, Suga felt his face warm as he slowly nodded.  “Unfortunately, yes.”  The woman sighed and reached across the counter to fix part of his hair, which he quickly backed away from.  “Mom,  _ please _ .”

“Ah.  You’re trying to impress someone.” she said instead, dropping her hand back down to her mug of tea.  When Suga didn’t comment, a small smile spread across her lips before she set off to the reading room, where the children had mostly all settled in.

 

It was finally nearing the end of the day when Suga felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.  He had just finished checking out a large amount of children’s books for the group of kids earlier, so the new distraction was welcome.

> **AssToorunaut [4:33]** : u should come down here
> 
> **SugaCookie [4:35]** : why??
> 
> **AssToorunaut [4:40]** : trust me

Sugawara frowned at his phone for a moment before turning to find Asahi walking back with the empty book cart.

“I am being summoned downstairs.”

“It sounds like you’re going to hell.”  Asahi said quietly as Suga walked around the end of the counter so he could leave the library, and so Asahi could take his spot.

“Maybe I am.” he answered with a shrug.

He had absolutely no idea what Oikawa wanted this time.  It wasn’t like it was unusual for the other to text him to come down throughout the day, though he generally texted with more than just ‘trust me’ as his reason.  The most common reason being they had made a new caffeinated creation and wanted Suga’s input, and nine times out of ten Suga shot down their idea and wouldn’t let them put it on the menu for fear of sending people to the hospital.

Suga took the stairs down two at a time and nearly fell down the remaining two once his eyes caught sight of the man he had been waiting for outside the building.  He was pacing back and forth on his phone, talking with his free hand animatedly.  Unfortunately, the glass doors and windows they had chose for the building were far too thick to hear any of the conversation.

Oikawa walked up to where Suga stood at the bottom of the stairs and crossed his arms.

“So, he’s been out there for about half an hour.  I don’t want to barge in on his conversation or anything, but  _ I’m _ starting to get nervous.”  Suga glanced over at Oikawa at that.  “I wonder what he’s doing?”

Suga squinted through the glass door as his heart started to beat quickly.  “I don’t know, but I feel like if he manages to come inside, I should be upstairs?”  There was a question in his tone as he turned back to Oikawa.  “Like, if it were me, if I finally psyched myself to come in and found him standing here instead of in the library, I’d probably turn around and never come back.”

Oikawa cocked his head to the side before slowly nodding.  “Then go back upstairs!”

“I don’t think my legs are going to move.”  Suga said after a brief pause, trying to turn up the stairs.  “I’m, Tooru, I’m nervous.”  he admitted quieter, his face burning up as he glanced back to the man outside.  “What if this is all just a huge misunderstanding.”

“Wait! He hung up the phone.”  Oikawa said instead before sighing.  “No!  Why is he leaving?  Where are you _ going? _ ”

Suga didn’t want to admit that his heart felt like it was going to leap out of his chest as the blood drained from his face.

“I  _ told _ you this was all a misunderstanding.” he mumbled, finally regaining movement in his limbs as he made his way back upstairs.

“Don’t lose hope, Kou-chan!”  Oikawa called after him, but Suga could barely register the words.  He had been  _ right there _ , why did he decide to leave?

Asahi frowned once Suga made it to the top of the stairs, but instead of going to the counter, he turned towards one of the quiet reading rooms to look out the window to the street below.  He could see the man walking down the block quickly, and Suga was so very, very confused by the whole thing.

“You realized I wasn’t worth it, didn’t you?”  he muttered to himself as Sawamura disappeared from his sight.


	6. Chapter 6

Daichi sat at the edge of his bed the following Saturday as the clock struck noon, and glared at his open walk-in closet.  He had woken up with a new resolve and was determined to follow up with Sugawara Koushi that afternoon.  But after a cup of coffee and a shower, he was at a loss.  Sawamura Daichi didn’t know what to wear.

He groaned quietly and leaned forward, pressing his face into his hands.  He had spent the better part of the last few years working and not really enjoying life to really have much in his wardrobe outside of work suits.  He ran his hands down his face before pushing himself from the bed to sort through the many, many button up shirts he owned.

The weather that day was mild, and nothing like it was the week prior.  The sun was still overhead and blazing bright, and so Daichi figured a light, short-sleeved white shirt would be safe and match with whatever trousers he decided on.

He turned around in the closet with the shirt over his arm to start sifting through the pants.  He groaned quietly as he moved the hangers to the side, wishing he had at least one pair of shorts.  Unfortunately he had thrown all of his old clothes away after college in his attempt to start his life anew, and had yet to restock any sort of summer wear.  Vacations?  Daichi?  No way!

The man finally settled on a lightweight pair of black dress pants before stepping out of the closet.  He quickly pulled the clothes on and looked in the mirror before scrunching his face.  He looked as though he was just going in for another day of work.

“God damn it…” he muttered quietly as his phone began to ring on his night stand.

Daichi quickly saw who was calling and answered, immediately putting the caller on speaker as his phone was still charging.  

“Kuroo.”

“So, what is the plan for today?”  Kuroo asked, his voice seemingly already knowing the plan despite the fact that Daichi hadn’t said a single word to him that morning.

“I’m going to try again.”  Daichi said, feeling his voice waver slightly as he looked at himself in the mirror again.  “Tell me why I don’t have any summer clothes?”

“Eh?  You?  You and summer don’t really get along, Dai.”  Kuroo said before humming.  “Having trouble finding something to wear?”

Daichi’s eyebrow raised as he glanced at his phone.  “Honestly, sometimes I feel like you installed a camera in my condo before I moved in.”

“I would  _ never _ do such a thing.”

The offense in his voice made Daichi chuckle.

“All I have is work clothes.  You know, I didn’t want to look so  _ serious _ , or like, what’s the word…”

“Uptight?”

At that, Daichi’s eye twitched.  “I suppose that would be a word to use…”

“Do you want to come here and wear--”

“I don’t think I can pull off your clothes either.  I think I would actually look like a fool walking in there with skinny jeans and plaid.”

“You’d be fine, it’s business casual.”

“It’s  _ rockstar _ casual.”  Daichi mumbled, flattening out the shirt before tucking it into his pants.  “Literally what I am wearing right now is business casual.”

“So,” Kuroo started, and Daichi could already feel his stomach drop, “what  _ are _ you wearing.”

“I’m going to hang up and call Tsukishima.”  Daichi threatened, which stopped Kuroo immediately.

“I joke, I joke.”

The conversation continued as Daichi kept on getting himself ready.  He decided that the clothes he had picked out were the only ones in his collection that would actually work before styling his hair, which was something he very rarely bothered to do for work.

The conversation kept on going as Daichi made himself a quick snack, needing fuel to carry him through the rest of the afternoon.  He glanced at the clock every so often as he carried his phone through his home, and he could feel the butterflies circle in the pit of his stomach.

“I’m getting nervous.”  Daichi said as the clock struck two.  “Also, how have you been able to get away being on the phone all day?  Don’t you have clients?  Open houses?”

Kuroo laughed quietly on the other end of the phone.  “I took the time off Dai, because I knew you’d need a distraction.  I knew after you hung up last night that you were still determined, even if you were a nervous wreck.  I knew you wanted to see this through, especially after getting as far as you did yesterday.  I know you’re stubborn, but eventually you always go for what you want, even if it does embarrass you.”  Kuroo explained, as though it was the most obvious answer.  “I also knew you’d need a distraction, and I couldn’t just show up at your place because we’d probably end up watching movies until three o’clock in the morning, as we usually do, but I knew I could distract you enough by calling.”

Daichi’s eyes widened as he stared at his phone, glad that they hadn’t gone the Facetime route.  His cheeks warmed and he slowly nodded.

“Thanks, Tetsurou.”  he said quietly.  “Honestly, I appreciate it.  I don’t know what I’d have done if you hadn’t called.”

Daichi picked up the phone a short while later and took Kuroo off speaker, pressing the phone to his ear as he picked up his keys with his free hand.

“Alright, I’m going!”

Kuroo continued to talk, keeping Daichi distracted enough as he walked down the street towards the library.  Daichi could feel his heart start to leap up his throat, and he was sure it was going to escape for sure as the library came into view.

“Now I’m really nervous.” Daichi admitted softly, watching a younger gentleman leave the building with a scowl on his face and a cup of coffee in his hand.  “Like, what if he says no?”

Kuroo sighed on the other end, and Daichi started to pace back and forth to keep himself moving.

“Daichi, we have been over this many,  _ many _ times now.  Don’t chicken out now, man!”

“I know, I know.” Daichi muttered back, glancing to the building before his pacing resumed.

The conversation seemed to go in circles as Kuroo continuously tried to talk Daich into going into the building, at least into the cafe to get a drink to calm him down.

“I don’t think coffee will help me at this point, Kuroo.  Besides, that barista yesterday…”

“Okay, that’s fair.”  Kuroo said softly before mumbling something that Daichi barely caught.

“What?”

“Did you remember to get flowers?”

“ _ What? _ ”

“Flowers!  For Sugawara!”

“I, uh, no?  Is that a thing I was supposed to do?”

“Sawamura Daichi, how are you supposed to woo this  _ angel _ without bringing flowers?”  Kuroo demanded, seemingly quite upset over it.  “Go!  Go get flowers from the corner store, right now!”

“I, but--”

“Go!”

Daichi gave the library one last glance before hurrying down the street to the closest corner store, between his condo and the library, in hopes they still had flowers available.

“What flowers do I even get?”  Daichi asked, his voice cracking.  “I don’t know anything about flowers?”

“And I do?”  Kuroo countered, which caused Daichi to groan.  “I mean, roses are romantic but expensive.  And don’t take white flowers to a hospital.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not going to a hospital?”  Daichi muttered before yelping, realizing he had stepped out into the road when it wasn’t his turn to cross.  “At least, I hope not.”

“No!  Not going to a hospital.  You’re going to retrieve flowers from the corner store, a random assortment might be your best bet because who the fuck knows what flowers even mean?  And you’re going to turn around and go back to the library and acquire a boyfriend.”

“B-Boyfriend.  Well, I sure am glad one of us is confident in this whole thing.”  Daichi said before he started to cross the road once the light turned in his favour.  “What if the corner store doesn’t have any flowers?”

“Then go to the next store!”  Kuroo cried, as if it was the obvious answer.

“R-Right.”

Daichi stepped into the shop a few minutes later and sighed, relieved.  There were a few bouquets left at the front of the shop, although they all looked as though they had seen better days.

“I think I need to go to another shop.”  Daichi muttered before stepping out, away from the sad looking flowers.  “I don’t even know if there is a florist around here.”

“You don’t walk around your neighbourhood very often, do you?”  Kuroo asked before Daichi could hear tapping on the other end.  “You went to the store just down the street from your place?  Go one block east and there should be a florist in that area, as well as another convenience store just in case the florist prices are ridiculous.”

“I think I want to stick to the convenience store, then.”  Daichi mumbled.  “I mean, I have the money and if everything works out, I would definitely spoil him rotten, but not knowing--”

“Then it would be the best time to spoil him before he can give you an answer.”  Kuroo cut in, and Daichi could actually  _ see _ the smirk on his friends face.  “Go all out, Dai.”

Daichi continued down the street and could see the fancy lettering on the sign above the florist.  There were large bouquets in buckets outside, and as he got closer he could see even more inside.  The nerves were hitting him again as he looked at the flowers outside the shop, much more fresh and healthy than those he had just seen.

“Summery colours would be a safe bet, yeah?”  Daichi asked quietly, picking up a bouquet of flowers filled with oranges and yellows and reds, none of them which he could confidently identify.

“Go with the bouquet that speaks to you.”

“I’m not the Dr. Doolittle of flowers, Kuroo.”  Daichi muttered as he put the bouquet back to keep looking.  “They don’t speak--”

Daichi cut himself off as his eyes moved to a bouquet at the farthest corner.  It was smaller than the one filled with bright reds and oranges, and instead was filled with white and lavender.  He pulled it from the bucket and brought it to his face, enjoying the downplayed scent of the flowers.

“I think I found it.”  Daichi finally said before stepping into the shop.

“I’m not the Dr. Doolittle of flowers, Kuroo.”  Kuroo mocked as Daichi stepped up to the counter, setting down the flowers and cradling the phone against his shoulder

“Shhh.” Daichi hushed as he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and hurriedly handed over his credit card for payment.  “I’ll send you a picture of it before I go in.”

The shopkeeper handed back the credit card and the receipt and soon Daichi was stepping back out onto the sidewalk.

He continued to keep Kuroo on the phone until the library was once back in front of him, his heart racing yet again as the butterflies tried to escape, making him queasy.

“I’m going to hang up now.”  Daichi finally said, staring at the building in front of him as he held onto the flowers tight.  “I’m going in.”

“Good luck, my friend.  May the force be with you.”

Daichi sighed and couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped.  He was so,  _ so  _  thankful for Kuroo that afternoon, even if he was a complete nerd.

“Thank you.  I’ll talk to you later.”

“I better not hear from you until tomorrow!”

“Boy, you’re optimistic.  Okay, I’ll talk to you  _ tomorrow _ .”

Daichi quickly hung up and snapped a quick photo of the bouquet before pocketing his phone.  He took a few deep breaths of fresh air before moving forward, stepping into the building.

He quickly moved towards the stairs, and he did not miss the way Oikawa’s eyes widened behind the cafe, and he clearly heard the gasp.

“Tooru, are you okay?  Did you cut yourself?”  He heard Shouyou ask a moment later, but anything after that was too quiet to hear as he made it to the second floor.

Daichi gulped down a lump in his throat, nervous.  He shook slightly on his feet as he walked into the library, and his heart leaped when he saw the stunning man sitting behind the counter looking positively  _ upset _ .  Daichi frowned and stepped closer to the counter before clearing his throat when the other didn’t look up.

Once Sugawara’s head raised, his eyes immediately widened and he jumped to his feet, and Daichi noted the red in his eyes.

“Y-Y--”  he tried before clearing his throat.  “Hello.”

Daichi didn’t miss the way his eyes kept darting towards the flowers, to his face, to the flowers and down to the counter, all while his cheeks turned a light pink which surely matched his own.

“I don’t know how much you heard about yesterday.”  Daichi started, not really having thought much farther than where he was already.  What was he supposed to say?

But Sugawara nodded, which somewhat relieved Daichi’s nerves.  It wasn’t a  _ complete _ surprise.

“Right, well.”  Daichi said softly, handing the flowers over.  “These are for you.”

Suga’s eyes were impossibly wide as he took the flowers, his fingertips gently grazing Daichi’s hands.

“They’re beautiful.” he murmured softly, leaning in to smell.

“And, I was wondering if we could maybe go for coffee some time?  Or, whatever else you may prefer?”

Sugawara raised the bouquet enough to cover his face, embarrassed.  And Daichi had no idea what that meant.  The librarian remained quiet for a moment, his eyes still on Daichi’s face before he lowered the flowers.

“I would like that very much.”  he finally said, the grin unable to stay off of his face.  “And I’m actually off already, if you would like to go downstairs for a drink?”

It was Daichi’s turn to widen his eyes before nodding.  “R-Right.  Yes, downstairs.”

Sugawara leaned forward the smell the flowers again.  “I’m going to put these in a vase upstairs, I will be back down in a moment.” he said softly, biting the inside of his lip.  “I’m Suga, by the way.”

Of course, Daichi knew that already, but he reached for the hand offered to him to give it a light shake.

“You can call me Daichi.”

“Daichi.”  Suga tried, and it sounded like the best song that he had ever heard.  “I will be back in a moment, Daichi.”  And as he watched him leave, Daichi nearly collapsed against the checkout counter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did u think i was going to leave y'all hanging on a sad suga????? on this day?????? of his birth??????
> 
> anyway, thanks for reading! i'm leaving it at this point, but i do plan to come back to this universe in the future! i want to expand on the other relationships, i think! as well as more daisuga, of course. but for now, until i have it planned out, i feel this was an appropriate place to end, rather than dragging it out!
> 
> i hope you enjoyed it! if there are any people/ships you would like to see more of in any sort of continuations, let me know! i'll see what i can do!

**Author's Note:**

> yes? no? maybe? good? bad? keep going? stop writing forever?
> 
> kudos and comments are the fuel to my fire, don't be shy!
> 
> [tumblr](http://plisstsky.tumblr.com) & [twitter](https://twitter.com/sugawrites)!  
> my inbox on tumblr is currently open to prompts and you can find more information here! ([x](http://plisstsky.tumblr.com/post/161665051057/im-reopening-my-inbox-to-writing-prompts))


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